Today Gael Greene reports that Bar Basque, Jeffrey Chodorow's year-and-half old Spanish restaurant in the Eventi Hotel, is shuttering at the end of April. Although several critics hated its Syd Mead-designed interior (Sam Sifton called it "shiny and not really comfortable at all"), many people liked the food from chef Yuhi Fujinaga, and the restaurant's guest chef series.
Ms. Greene says that Jimmy Haber’s ESquared Hospitality group — which operates BLT Steak, Go Burger, and Casa Nonna, among others — will move into the Bar Basque space in May with plans for a new restaurant. A worker at Bar Basque tells Eater that the restaurant will indeed shutter at the end of April, but reps from China Grill Management and Haber's group have yet to confirm the news about an ESquared takeover.
The shakeup might also include a reconfiguration of the ground floor space, which houses Chodorow's successful food hall project FoodParc. Presumably, Chodorow's China Grill Management and ESquared wouldn't co-exist in the Eventi, so FoodParc might be out too. More details as they become available.
· Bar Basque is Out of Eventi [Insatiable Critic]
· All Coverage of Bar Basque [~ENY~]
[Krieger]